1967 Plain Jane Camaro

[John McIntire]

Great build and good god is that motor beautiful. I’m not sure what a “good deal” is but I can not believe you even found that engine for sale.

Would you believe eBay of all places?!

[syborg tt]

John I’m really looking forward to the build and how cool is the motor.

Keep up the updates

[andrewb70]

Great build! Looking forward to more progress.

If you plan to keep that intake, going with a Holley Dominator ECU and DBW throttle bodies will greatly improve drivability.

Andrew

[lbsurfer11]

That is one heck of a motor. Congrats and good luck.

[John McIntire]

Thanks guys, I know I have a long road ahead of me, but nothing I haven't done before!

The carbon fiber intake is for sale. I have it listed everywhere, but no one's biting and in these current times I don't blame anyone. It's an absolute piece of artwork. I love it, but it's just not what I have in mind for my build.

Andrew, I was leaning heavily towards a Dominator for my set up, but thought that it was way overkill for what I need. I'll never really use that thing to its full potential. I've been talking to Dave Mikels and will most likely just run a factory ECM that he sets up for me and then have my tuner go from there.

[John McIntire]

Here's some more pics from the tear down. If no one has swapped their stock subframe bushings out, you should seriously look at them. Like I said earlier, I've been soaking the bolts down for awhile and they all came out without an issue. You can clearly see how far gone they are. Here's a shot of a few of them.



I replaced them with DSE's parts. Stainless hardware and stock height solid mounts.

[andrewb70]

Thanks guys, I know I have a long road ahead of me, but nothing I haven't done before!

The carbon fiber intake is for sale. I have it listed everywhere, but no one's biting and in these current times I don't blame anyone. It's an absolute piece of artwork. I love it, but it's just not what I have in mind for my build.

Andrew, I was leaning heavily towards a Dominator for my set up, but thought that it was way overkill for what I need. I'll never really use that thing to its full potential. I've been talking to Dave Mikels and will most likely just run a factory ECM that he sets up for me and then have my tuner go from there.

I can't argue with an OEM set up, especially done by Dave. However, if you're interested in learning tuning, and want the ability to make simple changes yourself, without going to a tuner, then a lower cost solution is the Holley Terminator X Max.

Andrew

[TheJDMan]

Opps, I saw "Plain Jane" and I thought I was going to read about Rod Prouty's Plain Jane Camaro.

[Alwhite00]

I was really looking forward to how that intake looked in the car. Damn that thing is pretty.

[68Formula]

Here's some more pics from the tear down. If no one has swapped their stock subframe bushings out, you should seriously look at them.

Mine were similar. They were original for sure, and the car was always garaged. Definitely something everyone who hasn't done yet should check. And if you buy a car, first thing to check too.

[John McIntire]

Before sliding the new subframe under the car, we decided to put an engine and trans in to see where the trans tunnel would need to be cut. This would be much easier to do at this point. I'm using DSE's motor mount kit #060404 which places it rearward 1.5 inches. My buddy lent me a spare LS block for mock up and the bell housing,T56 and cross member are from Bowler.

[John McIntire]

Tried to inch up on the cutting to see how much would really need to be removed, you can see where I wound up! I don't really care as I have the trans tunnel patch kit from Bowler also to clean this all up. I know there are some people online that have different set ups that say the T56 fit with no tunnel mods, definitely not the case here. At first we tried just a small hole for the shifter, then a little bigger rectangle to fit the whole shifter. Looked good, but started to hit closer up front where the trans mates to the bell housing, so I just cut it all out knowing it'll be patched up later. This probably wouldn't be an issue if everything wasn't set back 1.5 inches.

[John McIntire]

Here's the engine side. Seems to have decent clearance all around. It's a little tight here by the bump out for the gas pedal mount, but I'll be trimming that flush with the firewall when I smooth it.

[andrewb70]

Will that engine placement let you remove the transmission when everything is put together?

Andrew

[John McIntire]

Will that engine placement let you remove the transmission when everything is put together?

Andrew

I believe so Andrew. The pictures may make it seem a lot closer than it is. I'm keeping serviceability in mind while fabricating the trans tunnel and will be cutting out the rest of it to make room for one that will have ample clearance all around.

[Gmachine1911]

I used the Bowler trans tunnel patch in my 68 as well and it worked great. I didn’t use the forward piece but rather fabricated one that better fit my need. I ended up raising it 1 3/8” in the rear and 2 5/8” up front and opened up the area around the bell housing for future servicing as well. Here’s a few pics of how mine ended up if it helps any. For reference, my setup is an LS3/T56 with DSE subframe and DSE setback engine mounts as well...

I also used a Bowler trans cross member and the DSE headers. As much as I hated to spend that kinda coin on headers, they’re worth every penny. Here’s a pic of the finished interior to give you an idea of where my shifter placement ended up...

[Motown 454]

John that sub frame is sweet and so is that motor!
That interior looks nice Shane

[John McIntire]

Awesome Shane, thanks for the pics! On your T56, where is your shifter located? All the way to the rear like mine?
I'm looking at the DSE headers too and they're a lot of coin, but you can't really argue with components that are all engineered to work together. I know Holley makes a few sets designed to work with the DSE subframe, but for a few extra bucks you get a much nicer quality part.

[Gmachine1911]

John that sub frame is sweet and so is that motor!
That interior looks nice Shane

Thank you!

Awesome Shane, thanks for the pics! On your T56, where is your shifter located? All the way to the rear like mine?
I'm looking at the DSE headers too and they're a lot of coin, but you can't really argue with components that are all engineered to work together. I know Holley makes a few sets designed to work with the DSE subframe, but for a few extra bucks you get a much nicer quality part.

Anytime! Mine is actually in the middle position, the shift lever is 8” long, it’s plenty comfortable for me as far as reach (I’m average build, 6’ tall) so no knuckle-dragging, lol.
I agree totally on the headers...buy it once, buy it right...cheaper that way in the end. Keep up the good work!

[thumper877]

Ultimate headers are pieces of art. Very high quality. I have them on my 69 with dse clip great ground clearance. Just another option